Getting To Zero Waste At Beaches

One of the reasons, I started this whole living off beach trash saga, was to demonstrate how much stuff, we throw away, how little people know or care about plastic pollution, our beaches and zero waste. To demonstrate how little value, we place on stuff and mostly how marine debris and waste can be reused and kept out of our oceans. Is it possible to Zero Waste a Beach?

Zero Waste is a philosophy that encourages the redesign of resource life cycles so that all products are reused. The goal is for no trash to be sent to landfills or incinerators. … Zero waste is more of a goal or ideal rather than a hard target (Wikipedia)

Technically, you could pick up 95% of the beach trash and recycle it. The Terracycle Beach Clean Up Program recycles most of the beach trash seen. Textiles, such as towels, blankets, sheets, clothing can be recycled easily if washed. Shoes (just donated again 87 pairs and 90 single shoes) Plastics and aluminums can be recycled. Food could be composted if there was a compost pile. Most food wrappings are recyclable. The amount of cardboard packaging is recyclable and even styrofoam is recyclable in San Diego. Burt’s Bees and Solo Cups have a program through Terracycle. Burts Bees for their lip balm and of course the ubiquitous Red Cup via Solo.

Even more beach trash-waste could be prevented if Styrofoam, plastic utensils, straws and balloons were banned at the beach. This is what sustainable cities are starting or already implementing. Even more waste could be prevented if laws were enforced, such as picking up after your dog, drinking, smoking (you can recycle Cigarettes via Terracycle) and glass. All that packaging and the trash that goes along with it, would go away.

Unfortunately Terracycle is not running this program now.

About the only thing that is non-recyclable are wet-ones, some fishing gear, beach chairs, camping chairs, canopies and umbrellas. These can be repurposed, except who is going to do that? BBQ’s can be recycled and repurposed. If styrofoam is banned, hopefully most of those disposable boogie boards would go away, but for sure the disposable coolers would be gone.

The non- reyclable items are in the reusable bag on the pavement. The rest is towels, toys, textiles and bottles.

If Styrofoam was banned, the tide line would not look like this.

Once that went away.. guess what else would happen, aside from cleaner beaches? The taxpayer cost of up-keeping the beach would go down. Less trash, means less people needed to clean up. Cleaner beaches.. mean cleaner oceans.. mean more tourists.. more money.. kinda works that way. Who really wants to go a beach that has dirty diapers and filled with plastic trash?

I Just Have To Eco You

8.3 billion metric tons that has been produced of that 6.3 billion metric tons has become plastic waste
91% of All plastic is Not Recycled .
2050: it is predicted to be 12 billion metric tons of plastic in landfills.
40% is plastic packaging
8 million metric tons of plastic ends up in the oceans every year.
5 Grocery Bags of Plastic Trash for Every Foot of Coastline Globally.
That is the equivalent to five grocery bags of plastic trash for every foot of coastline around the globe.
700 Marine Species affected by Plastic Pollution

It is scary, when one studies these statistics or even takes a good look around them. There is plastic litter everywhere, not just the ocean. Ergo a huge trend in going plastic free, which is so hard to do! Try it next time you go to the store, even if you bring or reuse your old plastic buy in bulk bags.

Unfortunately, San Diego is not in the forefront of Sustainable Shores. It is very sad to say, here we are in a beautiful city, with great weather, lots of beaches and activities including a world class Birch Aquarium, SeaWorld, Scripps Oceanography and the San Diego Zoo, we have whale watching, we have seals and tidepools, but we do not have a Sustainable Beach Program in place. What we have is a city with understaffed police officers, who cannot enforce the laws, an understaffed Park and Recreation Department, understaffed Park Rangers, Lifeguards, who don’t want to get involved and a Mayor who is about Profits Over People and Ocean for that matter.

That said.. no matter what, there is a trend worldwide on Zero Waste Shopping making it easier to go Plastic Free and Zero Waste. Here is a list of Zero Waste Stores and Trader Joes Is NOT one of them. If each of us tries to attain a zero waste, we and the world would be better off.